The Lioness, the Sharpshooter, and the Shadow
by HuskieDawg
Summary: After a mission to infiltrate Galra Central Command goes awry, Allura embarks on a dangerous rescue mission only to find that Lotor is not what he seems. From the POV of Lotor, Lance, and Allura. T for mortal peril. Chapter 7 is up.
1. Chapter 1

Lotor slid into the scene practically unnoticed, almost like a shadow on the forest floor.

The battle had started just a few dobashes ago, but it was already spiraling into chaos. Galra soldiers and androids flooded the loading docks of the massive ship and were pushing back against just six warriors and a band of rebel Galra with all their might. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the scene. If they kept coming here, someone would begin to suspect that he was disabling security for his own purposes.

He was supposed to be here, and it wasn't at all unexpected for him to be on the frontlines of the Garla battlefield, rallying and spewing Galra rhetoric and propaganda. However, his motives were questionable.

After learning that he was actually half Altean, a deep hatred for his Galra was born. His mother had betrayed her own kind, and his father had brutally destroyed her planet without question.

He despised the Galra with every fiber of his being. Their genocidal tendencies and their lust for blood seemed to hover like the stench of carrion in every corner of the Galra Empire, and he had enough of it.

His plan was slow moving at first. Maybe on one planet he would take a poor half-Galra under his wing and support them in becoming a high ranking Galra agent, and on the next, he might dominate mercilessly to avoid suspicion. But finally, he was at a point in his plans where the rest of the universe might have a chance against the Galra.

After years of hard work, he had his own loyal agents everywhere in the Galra Empire. He convinced them all to swear allegiance to him, instead of Zarkon. And one by one, he smuggled them into Central Command, either as prisoners or disguised as Galra soldiers. Soon enough, he would have more personnel on the massive ship than Zarkon himself, and then he could destroy Zarkon's Empire swiftly and effectively.

Lotor didn't consider himself a hero, of course. He was merely a means to reaching the end of the unspeakable horror that his father had spread throughout galaxies over several thousands of years. Lotor knew his own hands were not clean, but he carried on. Perhaps it was necessary to fight evil with evil.

And then Voltron came out of nowhere.

Although he knew that Voltron stood a chance against his father, he couldn't shake the sensation that somehow Voltron was threatening his goal of toppling the Galra Empire. Every time they showed up, his plans were at risk of being discovered. His closest generals hated them, and they had all agreed that Voltron would need to be eliminated if the operations were to continue as planned.

But they seemed indestructible.

Every attempt at destroying them only seemed to make them stronger. Lotor considered the risks of continuing on with them barging in like this, and he realized he needed to take a different approach when dealing with Voltron.

As he watched the battle unfold around him, he knew he would need to reach the Paladins somehow if he wanted to keep them from stumbling blindly into his plans. If he could capture one and get the rest to trust him somehow, maybe they could move forward together. He narrowed his eyes as he watched one of them struggle against two of his generals Ezor and Zethrid.

Perhaps today was going to be his lucky day.

Lotor sauntered through the battle, paying almost no care to the Galra android that was being blown to bits by the Yellow Paladin or to Acxa and the Green Paladin locked in combat just a little ways off from where he walked. His eyes were locked on the one struggling to keep up with Ezor's punches and Zethrid's brute force on a loading platform across the battlefield.

Lotor called a direction or two out as he broke into a run. He needed to get to the Paladin quickly so he could subdue him, otherwise, his generals might kill him. He ducked under fire from the Yellow Paladin and slid towards the area where his two generals were gaining the upper hand.

Ezor had kicked the Paladin's Bayard out of his hand and was giggling as he frantically lunged towards her.

"Aw, you want your toy back?" Lotor could hear her teasing.

She flipped over the Paladin and landing daintily behind him. He turned to grab his Bayard but Zethrid grabbed him from behind. The Paladin squirmed, and somehow managed to land a solid kick to Zethrid's stomach. She dropped him with a gasp as Lotor's heart skipped a beat.

If Zethrid got angry, there would be no hope. He approached the platform just in time to see Ezor leap back into action, this time swinging a knife at the Paladin. He ducked under another beam from the Yellow Paladin's fire and scrambled almost ungraciously onto the platform. Lotor leapt behind the Paladin right as he turned away from Ezor and kicked him firmly under his ribcage.

The Paladin choked, and Lotor could see tears forming in his wide blue eyes.

As he crumpled to the ground, Lotor noticed blood coming from where he had kicked the Paladin. His heart sank as he saw the Blue Paladin clutched the hilt of a knife, a knife that Lotor had just kicked deeper into the wound.

Lotor dropped to his knees as another wave of fire screamed over his head, and demanded that Ezor go prepare an escape pod. Perhaps if he took the Paladin somewhere else, he could strike up a deal with the other Paladins...if it wasn't too late. He grabbed the Blue Paladin by one arm and began to drag him off the platform. As he slunk away with his prey in tow, he heard a shriek erupt from nearby.

"LANCE!"


	2. Chapter 2

_Castle of Lions, 20 vargas prior..._

Lance always stole a moment after dinner to visit Blue. He wasn't her Paladin anymore, but he missed her. It still felt like he needed to update her on the details of his life...just like old times.

Tonight he sat leaned up against her right paw, his legs crossed, telling her everything that was on his mind.

"Anyways, it's crazy to watch everything unfold. I think Shiro is starting to enjoy directing us from the Castle, but it really doesn't keep Keith from making stupid choices anyways. It's rough piloting the Red Lion. I'm always having to talk Keith down from flying right into a trap. Or like the other day! He was going to blast that village even though it was just Lotor and his generals there! He really needs to simmer down. You know you've got a problem if I'm the voice of reason. You know what I'm saying, Blue?"

Blue's eyes seemed to gleam in amusement. Lance knew she could see through his exaggerated tales, but it made him smile knowing she still seemed to enjoy them despite the fact he was no longer her Paladin.

"I miss the old days," Lance continued, rubbing his eyes. "I would love to be flying with you again...but...Allura does such an amazing job! She's so smart, and I know it's for the best. She's always blowing my mind."

He glanced up at Blue, who was emitting a low purr.

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled. "She's out of my league, isn't she?"

Blue almost seemed to let out a snort of laughter.

"You don't think...you could put in a good word for me, do you?" he quipped, gazing up the the big robotic lion with a smile.

"A good word for what?" Allura' s voice made Lance jump, and he scrambled to his feet.

"Allura!" he gasped, spotting her entering Blue's hangar. "Hey! I was just asking Blue if she'd tell the Black Lion that I'd be a better pilot than Keith."

Allura smiled mischievously.

"Is that so?" she giggled. "If that were the case, Red probably would have booted you out by now. But if you want to keep your inquiry to Blue a secret, I can respect that."

She sauntered over and rubbed Blue's leg.

"I think she likes it when you visit her," Allura commented, staring up at the Blue Lion.

"Who wouldn't like a visit from me?" Lance joked, and Allura rolled her eyes.

She turned to Lance, and her face suddenly turned serious.

"Lance," she began. "Are you nervous about the mission tomorrow?"

He scuffed his feet and leaned against the other side of Blue's leg.

"I guess so," he shrugged, he didn't want to tell her about the growing dread he'd felt since Shiro had proposed the mission. "I mean, we're about to break back into Galra Central Command to sabotage Quintessence experiments. It's not exactly a small scale mission."

"I hope we're not making a big mistake," Allura murmured. "I'm not overly fond of entering Galra Central Command so often. There's just so much risk."

Lance smiled the best he could at her.

"It'll be okay. Besides, I'll be there to protect you," Lance chided, folding his arms.

"I'll need nothing of the sort," Allura snorted, giving Lance a shove. "You'd better rest up. It's going to be a big day tomorrow."

"You do too," Lance pointed out.

"I know." she replied evenly. "I just wanted to do a quick scan of systems with Blue before tomorrow."

He nodded, and gave a tired smile.

"Of course," he murmured. "Good night Princess. I'll see you tomorrow. "

"Good night Lance."

Shiro had been strangely adamant about going into Central Command territory when he had proposed the plan a few days ago.

" _They're planning something dangerous,"_ he had said. " _If we don't get over there soon, there will be no hope of us stopping them. You have to trust me on this."_

Shiro had been having nightmares of his most recent time spent as a Galra prisoner, and had felt very strongly that his nightmares were not dreams, but flashbacks. Lance usually followed Shiro's keen intuition with confidence, but something felt off this time. He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Lance passed Hunk and Pidge on the way back to his quarters. They were deep in conversation, most likely about the possibility of rescuing more prisoners during the mission. Perhaps this was the lucky mission. Maybe they'd finally find Matt, Pidge's missing brother.

"Hey Lance!" Keith's voice came from behind him, and he turned to see the dark haired Paladin walking briskly down the hall towards him.

"What's up?" Lance greeted.

"I was talking to Shiro," Keith began, "and I think Hunk and Pidge are going to need you for coverage during prisoner extraction more than we're going to need you for scoping out Haggar's Quintessence experiments."

"Okay," Lance agreed reluctantly. "You sure you guys won't need a sharp shooter? After all, Hunk gives pretty good coverage already. Wouldn't it be smarter for one of us to go with you?"

But Keith shook his head.

"I'd rather have more coverage for the prisoners. Besides, I think it'll be faster for Shiro, Allura, and me to just take care of it ourselves," Keith explained curtly.

Lance suppressed a groan. Would it kill Keith to think things through?

"Alright, whatever you say," Lance sighed, allowing a hint of sarcasm to creep into his tone. "But I still think it would be good for me or Hunk to go with the Quintessence crew, and one of you guys to come for prisoner extraction."

Keith frowned.

"I don't think it would be a good idea," he said sharply. "I want the prisoners to have the coverage. Besides, we'll have the Blade of Marmora there to help...and Shiro was very serious about keeping the Quintessence part of our mission as low-key as possible"

"I thought _you_ were the leader of Voltron now! " Lance stammered. "Listen, Keith! This is a bad idea. Ever since Shiro first proposed this idea I've had this really horrible feeling in my gut. Tell me I'm not the only one that doesn't feel right about this, man!"

"Lance, you need to get a grip," Keith growled. "Shiro knows what he's doing. We're not going to to change plans just because you're a coward and don't want to go."

Keith stalked off before Lance could say anything else, and Lance let out the groan he'd been holding in. Why did he even bother? Did it not matter to him that Allura and Shiro would be going in without sharp shooter coverage?

His stomach turned nervously as he pictured Allura fighting off the hordes of Galra with no aerial coverage. He didn't doubt her skill in hand to hand combat, but it seemed like a stupid move sending the Quintessence team into action without him.

Lance arose early the next day, being sure to brush and feed Kaltenecker before heading to the dining hall for breakfast. Hunk and Pidge were already enjoying a hearty breakfast of Hunk's specialty pancakes and milk from Kaltenecker.

Lance pulled up a seat and settled in across from the two.

"Good morning," Hunk greeted.

"Morning!" Lance said, trying to be cheerful. "You guys ready to kick some Galra butt?"

Pidge and Hunk exchanged nervous looks, and Lance raised an eyebrow.

"You guys too, huh?"

"It just feels rushed," Pidge sighed, shaking her head. "I mean, we're just popping in to check in on Quintessence experiments with no firm plan? Something's off."

Hunk nodded, setting his fork down.

"I'm with Pidge on this one. I love extracting prisoners as much as the next guy, but going into Galra Central Command right now is too high risk in my opinion. Bad things happen every time we go back there," he explained.

"I know," Lance agreed, and he searched for words to try to convince them (and himself) that it was truly necessary. "Shiro seemed pretty convinced that Haggar was working on something that was going to end Voltron. I mean, he's been imprisoned by them multiple times now, and if he thinks something's up we should probably follow him."

Pidge looked back down at her food with a sigh, and Hunk shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, I don't like it either, but Shiro and Keith are convinced that it's a good idea for the Quintessence group to go without a sharp shooter. I trust Shiro's experience, and I trust Keith's intuition. It'll be alright," Lance sighed.

They finished breakfast in silence, and Lance started towards the Red Lion's hangar. He carried his helmet under his arm, whistling to himself. He could spot Allura a little ways ahead, getting ready for transport to the Blue Lion's hangar.

"Hey Allura!" Lance called, and she turned and smiled.

"Hello Lance."

He stopped beside her.

"You ready?" he inquired.

"As ready as I can be," she chuckled.

"Listen," Lance started. " I know Shiro and Keith don't want a sharpshooter with the Quintessence group, but…"

"Lance, I know you're worried," Allura cut him off before he could say anything else.

She turned to him and clasped his hand in both of hers. She had a calm smile on her face, but she had a troubled look in her eyes.

"I just want you to worry about keeping Pidge and Hunk safe. They need you. Everything with be alright," she murmured. "I promise."

Lance nodded numbly, and she leaned forward suddenly and gave Lance a quick kiss on the cheek. He looked up at her, surprised, but she merely smiled and walked away.

" _I promise."_

Those words still echoed in Lance's head now.

He tried to cling to the comfort of her voice. He tried to remember the clarity of her eyes, and the warmth of her hands.

Lance tried to cling to Allura's promise as his Bayard was kicked clean out of his hands...and as Ezor's knife plunged deep into his abdomen.

He gagged and stumbled backwards as Ezor giggled, and he shut his eyes in pain. Blood pounded in his ears, and his body seemed to shake uncontrollably. Lance knew he needed to get away. He needed to get to Allura. If things were going this poorly here, there was no doubt to him that it would be worse for Allura, Keith, and Shiro.

He forced his eyes open, and pivoted in an attempt to escape. He took one shuffling step only to be met by more pain. Lance's eyes locked with Lotor's, and he felt the knife jolt suddenly. Hot tears welled in his eyes.

He had failed.


	3. Chapter 3

Allura sat crouched near the door, standing guard while Keith and Shiro proceeded in their investigation. She could hear Keith and Shiro in the room behind her, but so far there was no sign of anyone coming to search for them. Her communicator buzzed faintly, and she turned the volume of it down when she recognized the voice on the other end as Slav's.

"H-hello?" Static made Slav's voice barely audible. "Are things going well?"

"It's too early to tell," Allura replied in a hushed voice, "But I think it would be good to keep this channel clear since we're trying to be stealthy at the moment."

"Yes of course," Slav responded. "But I am getting quite worried. I'm beginning to think that this is the reality where everything goes horribly wrong."

"It's okay, Slav," Allura sighed. "We're doing fine."

"Why does Slav have to be like that?" She heard Keith chuckle, and turned to smile at him.

"I think he just gets a little too excited about these sorts of things," Allura commented. "He's just nervous for us is all."

The room was bathed in purple light, and a metal table sat in the middle of it. Shiro was examining some tubes and wires which hung from above the table, while Keith was investigating a large glass windows on the far side of the room which appeared to be emitting the pulsing violet light.

Allura frowned at some larger cords that ran from the table in the center of the room to the walls.

"Are you sure we're in the right place, Shiro?" she asked.

"Positive," Shiro murmured. "This is the exact place that I keep dreaming about."

"It doesn't seem like there's anything especially different about this room," Allura muttered, turning back to the door. "Does it look like there's anything anything important in it?"

"It looks like experiments are run here, but that's all I can gather," Shiro noted.

"Shiro, are you sure there was-" Keith started, but something cut him off.

Confused, Allura turned to see Shiro holding Keith a few feet off the ground by his throat. Keith was grasping at Shiro's android hand, gasping for air.

"Keith!" Allura yelled, and she sprang to her feet.

Her Bayard flickered to life, and a long whip extended from it. She managed to sling it around Shiro's arm, and with a tug she pulled him and Keith to the ground.

Keith lay on the ground, panting, and Allura gave another tug to whip Shiro to the opposite end of the room. She scrambled to Keith and helped him to his feet.

"Allura-" Keith sputtered, but Allura shushed him.

"Something's wrong with Shiro. We need to get out of here." She hissed.

At the other end of the room, Shiro was staggering to his feet. He had a strange, twisted smile on his face, and his eyes glowed an eerie yellow. Allura stepped forward, holding her Bayard menacingly.

"Keith, we have to get out of here!" she commanded.

Keith shook his head and activated his Bayard.

"I'm not leaving Shiro here like this!" he groaned.

Shiro let out an eerie laugh.

"So I see you followed my puppet right into my trap," He sneered, but it wasn't his own voice.

"Haggar," Allura whispered in horror.

"Clever girl," Shiro hissed, activating his arm and staggering towards them.

Allura clenched her fist in anger. Shiro was under the influence of Haggar's Quintessence magic, and had apparently been following Haggar's will subconsciously. They needed to subdue him somehow.

"Keith," she whispered. "I need you to disable his arm."

Keith nodded, and the two of them leaped towards Shiro. Allura pelted past Keith and landed a solid kick to Shiro's face.

"So sorry," she mumbled as Shiro snarled and took a swing at her.

She ducked nimbly under his arm, right as Keith managed to lodge his sword into Shiro's robotic limb. He shrieked as his arm fell limp at his side, and Allura slung her whip around him, binding him tightly. Shiro thrashed and groaned as she lowered him to the ground.

"What do we do?" Keith panted, as he knelt down to help keep Shiro pinned to the floor.

"I don't know," Allura said, wiping sweat from her brow. "Haggar is controlling him with Quintessence, and we need to find a way to get her out of his head."

She turned and saw shadows moving down the hallway. Haggar's echoed laughter was filling the room. Her eyes widened.

"Keith," she gasped, pointing to a pair of glowing eyes in the gloom.

Keith took one look at the shadowy tendrils, and elbowed Shiro in the head. Shiro fell limp, and the two of them lifted him up. They barged through the room as quickly as possible, and an unseen force tore at Allura's hair. She grunted, and threw a fist blindly at the force.

The hall lights flickered out, and they plunged into the darkness.

Allura could hear Keith blindly swiping his sword out in front of them, and allowed herself to slow down. If they could keep calm, surely they could find the way out.

"I've had enough of Voltron." Haggar's voice came from all around them. "You left my husband wounded and dying, so I took the mind of your Black Paladin."

"Husband?" Allura heard Keith huff beside her. "There's no way…"

Allura gritted her teeth. She had manipulated Quintessence before...if only she could think of a way to do it now. Her grip tightened on Shiro, and she focused on trying to sense the energy Haggar was manipulating around them.

"You don't think I'm going to let you leave, do you?" Haggar taunted.

There it was. A small ripple of Quintessence could be felt when Haggar spoke. Allura tried condensing the energy, and strained her ears for the sound of Haggar's voice.

"You are all fools. Your friends are suffering on the loading platform, and now there's-"

Allura let go of Shiro and managed to create a small blast of pink Quintessence, filling the corridor with bright light. She could hear Haggar shriek, and hoped it would buy them just enough time to get to the docks to help the other Paladins.

After Haggar's screams died down and the light normalized, Keith and Allura hoisted Shiro up and sprinted for the loading docks. They said nothing as they wound up through the belly of Central Command, and to the loading docks.

The scene that lay in front of Allura was complete pandemonium. She could spot Hunk swinging his gun to bowl waves of Galra soldiers over, and Pidge seemed to have one of Lotor's generals on the run. Members of the Blade of Marmora were pushing back valiantly, but it seemed to be getting nowhere. Allura scanned the scene nervously.

"There's Lotor." Keith growled from beside her, and Allura's heart almost stopped beating.

Lotor stood on a platform, and was crouched suspiciously over something. No. _Someone_. Allura watched in horror as he stood and yanked Lance's limp form up by one arm.

"LANCE!" Allura screamed, practically dumping Shiro onto Keith.

The battlefield was thick with swinging arms and was erupting with fire, but Allura charged towards Lotor. She kept her eyes on him, and an angry yell rose in her throat. Ezor leaped in front of her, but Allura merely lifted her up and tossed her aside in her rage. The burly general behind her rushed to Ezor's aid, and Ezor scrambled to her feet as Allura stormed through.

"Lotor," she snarled, and the Galra prince turned to her slowly.

One eyebrow was raised in almost a smug expression, and he held Lance's arm unflinchingly despite the blood that coated the Paladin's suit.

"If you want me to stop and monologue, I'm not going to do it," Lotor said smoothly, tossing his hair back and turning to drag Lance away.

Allura grabbed him by the shoulder and drove her knee squarely into his back. Lotor grunted, and whirled around to face her.

"I've had enough of you," he growled, grabbing her firmly by the wrist.

"Funny," Allura quipped, upper cutting him with her other hand. "You sound just like Haggar."

As the words came out of her mouth, she realized there was probably a reason for that. His white hair, and lithe frame were all very Altean. Just like Haggar.

Suddenly strong arms grabbed her from behind, and pinned her arms down at her side. She struggled to land a kick to her captor, only to be thrown harshly to the side.

"Thank you Zethrid," Lotor grumbled, rubbing his chin. "Knock her out, and we'll go."

Allura made a move to rise, but everything went dark as Zethrid's elbow hit her heavily on the back of the head.

When her eyes fluttered open, she realized she was being carried like a child. She gasped, and struggled.

"Hey, hey...Allura, it's me. It's Hunk."

Hunk's voice came from the person who was carrying her. "We just made it back to the Castle of Lions. We uh, we had to tow the Blue and Red Lions back with us since you were unconscious, and Lance…"

She heard Hunk trail off, and as her vision faded in, she could see he was holding back tears.

"Lotor had hi,." Allura groaned. "We have to rescue him."

She slid clumsily out of Hunk's arms, but her head hurt horribly. The throbbing at the base of her skull was almost unbearable, and she would have lost her balance had Hunk not reached out to steady her.

"We might not be able to do that," Hunk sighed, and they began the long process of walking down the corridor. "You're injured, Shiro's under some kind Quintessence hoodoo, and it's….it's just not looking like it's in the cards for us right now."

"I'm not leaving him behind," Allura said steadily.

"We don't even know if he's still-"

"I'm not leaving him."

Hunk sighed, and they continued the painstaking process. Allura tried to stare determinedly ahead, and swallow the lump in her throat. She wasn't going to give up on Lance.


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize profusely for the late update. I took a trip, and then had a large family emergency, but luckily everything turned out okay. I will continue to post as school allows! Enjoy.**

Lotor kept his head steady as he directed the escape pod towards his own ship. The ship looked ahead, cloaked in stealth mode. He had tucked the Quintessence powered ship away in a lonely, asteroid ridden part of the quadrant, hoping it would be hidden from his father's prying eyes.

The Blue Paladin coughed pathetically on the floor next to him, and Lotor sighed. This had definitely not gone the way he had intended.

"You're lucky I didn't just let them kill you." Lotor spat.

The Paladin didn't budge, and Lotor reached down to check his pulse. The Paladin's heart was still beating, but likely not for long if he didn't receive medical attention. He frowned, and turned his attention back to the landing pad of his ship.

An uncharacteristic anxiety was brewing in Lotor's mind. He was unsure how willing the other Paladins would be to strike up some sort of alliance after all of this, but he saw no other option.

The pod landed, and Lotor once again seized the Blue Paladin by the arm. The Paladin yelped at his rough grip, but Lotor ignored it and dragged him to the command bridge. There were no healing pods on board, as it was a relatively small craft, but there were some tools on board that could be used to stabilize the Paladin until someone came for him.

He left the Paladin on the floor, and unlocked the small vault of medical equipment. With any luck, he could remove the knife, apply the needed antiseptic, and have it packed and covered. It would be a rough process, but in due time the knife would become infected if left in the Paladin's abdomen for too long.

The process was not an enjoyable one. The removal of knife was the hardest part, and after the Paladin's cries had died down, he feared all hope of preserving his hostage was lost. Although Lotor had learned some healing practices from his mother when he was young, but he had begun to withdraw from after learning her history. He skipped lessons with her, and his training was left incomplete. Her hypocrisy had driven him away.

The Paladin lay shivering as Lotor applied the finishing touches on the bandages, being sure to pack them tightly to prevent from bleeding through. Lotor pulled the black lining of the Paladin's armour back over his shoulders to keep him warm, and rolled him onto his side. He sighed and stood, being sure to clean up after himself and put Ezor's knife into a bin to be sterilized.

Lotor sat in front of the control panel, trying to decide if he should call the Castle of Lions now, or wait until the shock of the battle had settled. He glanced back at the wounded Paladin, and decided quickly that he should hail them sooner rather than later. After gaining his composure and smoothing his hair, Lotor hailed the Castle.

And image appeared on the screen, and Lotor was looking into the deep eyes of the Red Paladin.

"Greetings." Lotor said, allowing a small smile to creep into his face.

"Lotor!" The Red Paladin snarled. "You coward! What have you done with-"

"Now, now." Lotor chuckled. "No need to lose your temper. I have merely called to make a deal."

The Red Paladin's were eyebrows furrowed with irritation.

"And why would we be stupid enough to make a deal with you?" He demanded, crossing his arms.

"Because I have something the Paladins of Voltron might need." Lotor goaded.

At this point Lotor stalked off and snatched the Blue Paladin up by the collar and walked him over to the front of the bridge so the Red Paladin could see.

"Lance." The Red Paladin gasped, his eyes turning wide. "What have you done to him?"

Lotor ignored the question.

"As you can see, he doesn't seem to be doing very well." Lotor chided. "If you would like him back in one piece, and alive, I would suggest you listen to what I have to say."

"Keith, who's that?" a voice came from the background, and Lotor spotted the Altean princess behind the Red Paladin.

Her glittering eyes widened at the sight of her friend, and she rushed to stand at the Red Paladin's side.

"Lance!" she cried out, concern flooding her face.

"As I was informing the Red Paladin, I am willing to hand back the Blue Paladin...on one condition. One of you must meet me in the far reaches of the Galra's outermost quadrant. Only one of you. There I will state my terms, and if you agree I will free him. If more come, the Blue Paladin is as good as dead. The clock is ticking, so you'll have to make your mind up, fast." Lotor stated, keeping his face straight.

He couldn't let them see the worry that was growing within him. If this failed, the Blue Paladin would likely become a martyr to the rest of them, and the Paladins' zeal for hunting him would increase drastically. There would be no way his plans could continue.

"There's no way we would-" the Red Paladin began, but the princess interrupted.

"I'll go," she said steadily.

"Allura, why-?" the shocked Paladin stammered, but she continued.

"I feel as if it is my duty to ensure the safety of the Paladins. I am willing to comply with your request."

Lotor stifled a sigh of relief.

"Very well." He agreed. "I shall await your arrival. And remember, no other Paladins can come with you."

"You have made that very clear," She growled, her gaze remarkably sharp. "and I will respect your terms."

The screen phased out, and Lotor allowed himself to inhale sharply. This could work.

He slumped into his chair, and rubbed his eyes. He knew he should have attempted an alliance much sooner, but he couldn't. Not after everything they'd done.

Lotor closed his eyes, and reminisced.

In an early invasion, one of his generals was forced to retire early after an encounter with the Red Paladin. She had trained for ages to be able to attain skill at hand to hand combat, despite being blind, and it was all gone in an instant. After her long tail which she used for balance was sliced, she never could sense the ground underneath her feet the same way, and Narti retreated to assist with Quintessence research.

Life for Lotor and his generals only began increasingly more difficult after that. It seemed everywhere they turned, Voltron was there. The relationship with the Paladins had only worsened after the incident, and is anger at the various antics of the Red Paladin had kept him from trusting the group. Anyone that reckless should only be trusted in dire circumstances, and to Lotor the circumstances had grown increasingly dire.

At least it was the Princess that had volunteered to come, and not the Red Paladin.

He rose to move the Blue Paladin to a better place to rest. Voltron would likely be feeling the same way after this incident. It would be a miracle if they trusted him after this.


	5. Chapter 5

Allura held Lotor's gaze fiercely until his face flickered from off the screen.

"Allura, are you crazy?" Keith snapped, and she whipped around to face him.

"Lance was captured and wounded under my charge to defend the universe with Voltron," she stated coldly. "It is my duty to bring him back."

"No. No it's not," Keith groaned. "We knew what we signed up for when we agreed to be a part of this team, and it's never been your duty to rescue us. So why? Why are you doing this?"

His voice had turned more pleading, and his deep eyes seemed to be searching Allura. She turned away, unwilling to show her weakness, but she suddenly could not stop the tears from flowing.

"I...I promised."

Her voice quivered.

"You promised?" Keith repeated. "Allura, Shiro was possessed by Zarkon's witch. We don't have the time or the manpower to-"

"I know." Allura growled. "I'm not asking you to agree with me, because I know that would be too much to ask. I'm going, and don't try to stop me."

Keith bowed his head.

"Okay."

Allura put one hand on his shoulder.

"I need you to figure out how to help Shiro, while I'm gone." Allura said firmly. "We have two teammates in danger, and we can't do without either of them."

Keith merely nodded in response, and Allura gave him a weak smile before slipping away to prepare for the journey.

As she and Blue drifted through the loneliest parts of the quadrant, her heart raced. Lance had looked awful. If she didn't reach him in time, she would never forgive herself.

His blue eyes seemed to pierce her thoughts. So often he had tried to impress her, tried to win her over. She groaned internally. Why was it that the moment she began to see what he made him special, he was taken away from her? Was this truly their fate?

She urged Blue to speed up, but the lion seemed to be proceeding cautiously.

"What's wrong, Blue?" Allura murmured.

Almost as soon as she'd asked, the lion was hit by a strong blast.

They spiraled out of control, and Allura fought to steady the Blue Lion. As the lion leveled out, she scanned the area to see what landed the hit. The Blue Lion whirled around, and Allura was able to spot three ships approaching rapidly. She narrowed her eyes, and was able to identify them as the ships Lotor and his generals normally flew.

She pulled the lion to fly straight up before diving backwards to shower the ships with a beam of ice. One of the ships swerved out of the way, by the others were caught in the beam and slowed significantly.

Allura took the opportunity to bat one of them off into the distance, and had the lion land a firm kick that sent the other ship off in a different direction. She then aimed her sights on the third ship, but an image flickered onto her screen. It was one of the generals, Acxa.

"Greetings, Princess."

"Call off your ships," Allura demanded. "Or I'll blow you all out of the quadrant."

"We will," Acxa glowered. "As soon as you hand over Lotor."

Allura's eyes widened. They didn't know that she was on her was to follow through with Lotor's deal? She examined Acxa's hardened expression. It seemed to mask concern.

So Lotor was hiding this from his generals. For whatever reason, he didn't want them knowing about the deal.

"We don't have Lotor," Allura said steadily. "I was actually in search of him, because I saw you capture one of our Paladins."

"What," Acxa breathed, confusion flooding her face. "We haven't seen him since you attempted an attack on Galra Central Command!"

Allura frowned. Something was off about this. Why was Lotor hiding?

"I don't know what to tell you," she sighed. "Perhaps it's best you go grab the other two generals. They seem to be drifting fast."

Acxa snarled and vanished from the screen.

Allura held her breath, and watched as the ship vanished into the sky. As soon as she felt it was safe, she directed the Blue Lion on. The Blue Lion's pace was faster this time, hurdling through space with immense speed. Perhaps she could sense the danger Lance was in.

They drew nearer to the site Lotor had wanted to meet, and the Lion slowed. The asteroid belt would be difficult to navigate, but Allura was up to the task. They weaved cautiously around the debris, and Allura fired up a device to track where Lotor could be. She scanned tentatively, drumming her fingers on the controls of the Blue Lion. He had to be nearby.

The scanner beeped, and she moved stealthy along the asteroids, allowing the Blue Lion to hover closer to the location. Lotor's ship now loomed ahead of her, and she took a deep breath as she made the descent towards the sleek ship.

As she made her way towards the ship, a port opened. She pursed her lips, and guided the lion towards the port.

No one appeared to be in the bay, and Allura exited the lion with much caution. She held her Bayard close, ready for any possible attack. She crept around towards a dark corridor that appeared to be the only way out of the bay, as the port door began to shut.

Allura frowned as she made her way through the corridor and into the bridge of the ship. She spotted Lotor pacing the floor, with Lance sitting slumped in a chair nearby. Her heart skipped a beat, and she slid onto the bridge, poised to fight if necessary.

Lotor turned.

"Hello Princess Allura," he purred.

She raised an eyebrow. Was that relief on his face?

"Hello Lotor," she growled.

Her gaze rose to look at Lance, and Lotor glanced over his shoulder to follow her gaze.

"He has a good chance of survival," he stated casually. "Now that you're here, of course. But, we must discuss important matters if you'd like to take him back to Voltron."

"And what matters might those be?" Allura asked, she didn't dare drop her hostility no matter how curious she was of Lotor's plans.

"I need your help," Lotor sighed. "I need Voltron."

His answer surprised her, and she almost lowered her Bayard.

"Why would you need Voltron?" she murmured cautiously.

"You and I are quite alike," Lotor continued. "You may even hate my father as much as I do...which is why I've asked you to come here. It is about time we started working together, perhaps. Zarkon disgusts me, and let's just say Voltron's appearance has started to make it more difficult for me to fight him."

"You? Fighting Zarkon?" Allura spat. "You just expect me to believe this? And even if you were fighting Zarkon, how would Voltron make that more difficult?"

She lunged forward, and Lotor merely sighed, shaking his head.

"Please, Allura," he breathed. "I know it's difficult to imagine, but listen closely. Voltron and the Blade of Marmora are not the only groups at work to rid the universe of my father's rule. With three separate entities fighting Zarkon, it can become jumbled, and some of my plans have nearly been exposed due to Voltron's efforts. I think it's time we all came together."

Was it a trap? Allura wondered, her Bayard firmly in her grasp. Lotor seemed almost sincere, and his face held an uncharacteristic concern. Why would he ask now? Why not before?

"I should probably consult with the other Paladins," Allura said. "It is not a decision that I can make for the rest of the team."

Lotor bowed his head.

"I know it is strange to think about trusting me," he muttered. "And if it takes the approval from the other Paladins, I am willing to wait. But the real question is, can the Blue Paladin?"

"Was that a threat?" Allura snarled.

"All I am saying, is that I need an answer," he mused. "And I need it now rather than later. If you call other Paladins in, that would be a breach of our agreement, and I am free to do what I want with the Blue Paladin."

His face had turned back to its usual cold expression, and Allura groaned. Her gaze turned back to Lance's limp form.

"I think an agreement can be reached," she said hastily.

Lotor smiled, and gestured to Lance.

"He's all yours."

Allura walked towards Lance warily. She eyed Lotor suspiciously, but hurriedly knelt by Lance. His breaths were shallow, and she gently smoothed his hair back.

"It's okay," Allura whispered. "I'm here now."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to everyone who has followed and reviewed! This update is brief, but I'm still hard at work. Patchy WiFi is a pain. Enjoy!**

Lance's eyes flitted open, and groggily he attempted to survey the scene.

Purple light radiated off of the equipment in the surrounding area, and Lance was able to infer through his blurred vision that he must be on a Galra ship. He groaned and tried feebly to lift his head, but the pain in his chest was too great. The sound of someone pacing nearby caught his foggy curiosity, and he gave a weak cough.

The pacing stopped.

"Are you awake?" He heard Lotor's voice echo from the direction of the pacing.

"Lotor?" Lance rasped.

Lotor stepped towards him, and Lance could see his face appear over him.

"I must apologize." Lotor said. "I have no healing pod, so my shoddy attempt at healing will have to do until the princess arrives."

"What…" Lance trailed off as his vision began to turn black once more.

By the time he regained conciousness, someone was gently rustling his hair. Panic flooded his mind, and he hoped it wasn't Lotor.

"Lance." a familiar voice filtered through his ears. "Lance, I'm here now. It's going to be okay."

"Allura?" Lance murmured.

"Yes," he could hear her voice crack. "It's me. I've come to take you back."

He felt her arms wrap around him, and lift him out of the chair he sat slumped in.

"Ahh…" he wheezed. "My hero."

Allura chuckled softly.

"Now Lance…"

"So you missed me enough to come rescue me?" Lance attempted to tease, but his eyes were watering in pain.

"Me? Missing you?" Allura responded wryly. "Oh no, Kaltenecker was going to go insane if you didn't come back soon."

Lance coughed in response, but attempted a smile.

"It's going to be alright." Allura whispered more seriously. "I'm not going to let anything else happen to you."

He nodded, and allowed Allura to continue to carry him off. As they passed Lotor, Allura paused.

"You'll be hearing from me again." said Lotor. "Wait to attack Galra Central Command until I give my signal."

"Of course." Allura replied curtly before continuing into the corridor of the ship.

Thoughts buzzed through Lance's head. Why was Allura waiting on Lotor's signal for an attack? It all seemed so strange. Maybe this was all some kind of strange dream…

They entered the Blue Lion, and Allura lay Lance gently into a seat, taking his hands in hers.

"I know this may all seem strange," Allura began.

He looked up at her, and noted the concern in her face. She was genuinely worried.

"Well, life has been a bit strange ever since I started piloting a big flying lion." Lance mumbled, slipping one hand out of her grasp to grip his chest as another wave of pain gripped him.

"Lotor tried to save you for some reason. He said he wants to team up with Voltron."

Lance raised an eyebrow, it was unlike Lotor to be so altruistic.

The lion rumbled, and made a start for the bay opening. Asteroids and other debris could be spotted outside the craft, and Lance assumed Lotor had been hiding out someplace remote.

"When I came here, I was met by Lotor's generals. They were looking for him, and thought that perhaps I had done something to him. We''ll have to be careful on our journey back." Allura explained, she had moved to the pilot potision now.

Lance shivered. None or it made sense. Why was Lotor so willing to compromise? His head spun as he tried to make sense of it, but he was unable to reason what Lotor could be playing at. All he could think was that if Allura trusted Lotor, maybe he should too.

He began to drift off once more, but the sensation of the Lion being jarred abruptly to one side prevented any rest. Shaken, he lifted his head.

"Allura?" he called out.

"It's Lotor's generals," Allura huffed. "They've found us, and they're pursuing."

"We walked right into his trap." Lance murmured.

"No," Allura replied. "I did. I couldn't leave you to die."

Lance opened his mouth to comfort her, but the Blue Lion took another hard hit, and Lance was flung from his seat. Flashes of light and the blasts made Lance dizzy, and he covered his face. This was madness. The two of them were stranded with Lotor's generals firing at them, with no hope of immediate rescue. If he could just gain his bearings long enough to contact the Castle….

The fire stopped, and Lance could sense that the Lion was not moving. Allura sat in the her seat, attempting to acitivate the controls, but her growl of frustration told Lance that it wasn't working.

"They've got us suspended." Allura shouted. "The Blue Lion can't move!"

Lance raised himself onto his elbows, and watched as the Lion was pulled closer to the ships. Lotor's face appeared on the screen in front of Allura.

"As you can see, my generals are quite skilled." he quipped. "We will be taking you aboard to make arrangements to send the Lion to Central Command."

As his face vanished from the screen, Allura buried her head in her hands.

"I can't believe I let this happen," she groaned.

"Its okay." Lance sighed. "You did what you felt was right, and I'm not dead because of it. We''ll figure a way out of it, I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

Lotor finished his message to the Blue Lion, and slumped into his chair. He couldn't believe he didn't notice his generals flying within the vicinity of his hideout, and now Voltron would never trust him. Heart pounding in his throat, Lotor tried to brainstorm a way of of it. The generals would likely turn on him if they discovered he wasn't fully loyal to the Galra Empire, so he needed a new strategy.

As the princess and the Blue Paladin were dragged back aboard his ship, he glared down them through a mask of cold menace. Allura glared back, her expression fierce like a lioness. It was obvious he would have a difficult time convincing her to believe him.

"Take them to the dungeon." Lotor ordered Acxa, Ezor, and Zethrid. "I will fly with the prisoners and the Lion back to Galra Central Command. I will need you three to patrol the area near to asteroid belt to see if there are any lingering Paladins."

Lotor held his breath as his generals nodded and headed in separate directions. Acxa had already called Galra Central Command...they would be expecting him soon. The whole situation was deteriorating, and fast. If only he could trust his generals with his plans. They had fought so hard for acceptance from the Galra Empire, and he feared their loyalties lay more deeply with the Empire than with him.

"Why am I not surprised." Allura's voice shook him from his thoughts. "I can't believe I trusted you."

Her voice was sharp, and he groaned internally.

"Listen," Lotor hissed. "We have to head to Galra Central Command. Axca has already called you in, and we have very little time. I have an idea, but we will need to work together in perfect harmony in order for this to work."

Looking taken aback, Allura frowned.

"Is Lance and I being captured your idea of 'perfect harmony'?" she spat. "I don't know how much he can hold out."

Lotor looked at the Blue Paladin and hesitated. It was unwise to put him in more danger, but it had to be done. Guilt twisted in Lotor's belly as he watched the Paladin's sides heave.

"Me?" the Blue Paladin coughed, words slurring. "I could hold out forever, my lady…."

"I didn't realize my generals were so near by," Lotor cleared his throat. "We'll need to act fast if you are to escape Central Command unscathed."

"And you expect us to just trust you, again?" Allura hissed.

Lotor sighed and rubbed his brow.

"Do you have any other choice?"

As Central Command appeared on the horizon, Lotor could feel his pulse quicken. What they were about to attempt was borderline suicidal, but it had to be tried if the Blue Lion and the other two Paladins were to be reunited with Voltron.

Allura and Lance knelt shackled in front of him. Allura had finally agreed with the plan, and she now sat keeping Lance steady as they made their descent towards Central Command.

If Zarkon fell for the two Paladins as bait, the plan could work. Lotor kept repeated this to himself in his mind in an attempt to keep his composure. How long had it been seen the last time he had physically struggled to keep his composure? He had always been so sure of himself when executing his plans to gradually take on his father. Now it seemed he was a young boy again, struggling to lie to his father about the Yupper he had attempted to smuggle home with him.

"This is it," he murmured, half to himself. "Prepare for landing, Paladins.

"I hope you're right about this." Allura warned. "If you betray us, you'll have the wrath of Voltron to face."

Her voice wavered here. Was she bluffing?

"Will I?" Lotor inquired curiously. "You don't seem so sure."

"You will." Allura snapped. "Lance and I may be away, but that won't stop the others from coming for you."

Lotor frowned, and leaned back in his seat. Something about the way she spoke of the other Paladins made him feel sick to his stomach. With dread, he realized that the princess and the Blue Paladin must not be the only Paladins who were compromised at this time.

"Another one of your Paladins is unable to fight." Lotor said evenly, as if it were truth.

Allura turned away defensively, and he determined that it must be truth.

"Allura?" the Blue Paladin rasped. "What does he mean?"

"It's Shiro." The princess sighed. "He's under some kind of spell."

"Then it means even more to your team that we pull this off." Lotor concluded. "If you can follow through with this, I can help your other Paladin."

Allura remained silent, and Lotor sighed.

"It can be done. We just have to work together."


End file.
